According to the Idaho Department of Labor, corporate executives based in Idaho, used unemployment benefits to float their companies (because of the bad economy).

The executives, who own their companies, would apply for unemployment benefits claiming they had lost their executive position.  They would then use the money to float the company that they held controlling stock in.  It was all legal.

As of now they can’t do that anymore.  Idaho lawmakers created a new law that says corporate executives applying for unemployment benefits must prove they have no ownership in the company they had worked for.  The new law affects about 30,000 executives in Idaho.

However, the new law allows corporate executives to stop paying into the corporate unemployment system.  In Idaho unemployment taxes are paid by employers, not employees, but employers can be eligible for a refund.